In the discussion this week, my group focused on religious narratives and identified some of overarching themes and components that were common within them. To begin, we analyzed the popular Christian narrative of David and Goliath, as told in the biblical Book of Samuel.
David and Goliath tells the story of how the young Israelite shepherd, David, was able to defeat the powerful Philistine warrior giant, Goliath. It sets the scene of a land feud between the Israelites and the Philistines, in which the Philistines have the advantage. Goliath tells the Israelites to choose a fighter amongst themselves to battle him one on one, and the losing party’s nation will be enslaved to the victors. David manages to convince the Israelites that he is the best choice of a fighter for them to find victory against Goliath and the Philistines. When David goes to face Goliath, he brings nothing but his shepherd’s staff and a slingshot. While he may seem to be inadequately armed, his confidence is not without a foundation. He says to Goliath:
“All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves; for the battle is the LORD’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.”(1Sam 17:47)
During the course of the battle, it becomes clear that David’s shepherd’s staff was a tool to distract Goliath, allowing him to take the giant down with nothing more than a slingshot and a stone. His final act is to behead Goliath with Goliath’s own sword.
The parallels between the story of David and that of Moses from the Talmud are quite striking. The Talmud tells a story of Moses and his people, the Israelites, who encounter a giant while on a journey. The giant, King Og of Bashan, engages the Israelites in battle, and threatens to throw an enormous rock on Israel. Moses is contacted by God, who tells him not to fear King Og, as the fate of Moses and the Israelites is safely in his hands. When King Og goes to throw the rock upon Israel, God sends grasshoppers who bore a hole into the rock so it falls on King Og’s head in such a way that he cannot remove it. This gives Moses an opportunity to grab hold of an axe, strike King Og in the ankle, and kill him. More information as well as original passages from the Talmud can be found here.
Two components of these stories that stood out to me were that of the singular hero claiming victory for their people, and having the main antagonist of the story take the form of a giant. My group members also pointed out the themes of the underdog, and having wit be the ultimate weapon in battle. I believe that the overarching theme from each of these religious narratives is that true strength is found through belief in God, and this spiritual alignment with him allows one to have the greatest power.
Another topic of discussion for my group this week was what we believed the role of fantastical creatures in religious narratives to be. As someone who was raised Christian, though I am no longer a follower of the religion, I found the use of these fantastical creatures to be absolutely terrifying. I was so fearful of the consequences of disobeying the will of God that I followed the rules of the religion devoutly. Religious stories and artwork were filled with scenes of heaven and hell, heaven being shown as filled with beautiful cherubs, whereas hell was rife with fearsome demons. These types of depictions were inescapable within the religion, and we were constantly told that heaven was only accessible to the pious, and an eternity in hell was the punishment for disobeying God. The Catholic church learned early on that these depictions were incredibly effective in stirring religious motivations, and I believe this is best exemplified by the grandiose works found in European churches.
Mythological creatures being used as a way to explain the scientifically misunderstood was a great point of discussion. In the Qu’ran, it is said that the three types of spiritual beings are angels, demons, and Jinn. Jinn, like Goliath and King Og, are giants, and occupy a realm between earth and heaven. They can be good or evil, and can interact with humans when they chose. For many years in Islam, and even pre-Islamic cultures, Jinn were said to have the ability to enter the bodies of humans and cause mental illness. This is discussed further in the following research article.
I believe these awe-inspiring creatures that populate religious narratives and imagery are used to show the greatness of a supremely powerful God, and to depict how dire the consequences of impiety would be. I believe they are also used to explain the world in which we live, and help people find peace in this understanding. One group member pointed out that these creatures can be used as personifications of evils, or intangible ideas or circumstances. I believe this is shown in the story of David and Goliath, as discussed previously, with Goliath representing the immense obstacles that can be conquered with faith in God. It was also discussed that fantastical creatures can be used to make stories more dramatic, or give them more weight. Additionally, my group members discussed these beings as used to inspire hope via contact with the divine. Overall, it was concurred that these mythological beings have a myriad of uses in religious narratives, inspiring fear or confidence, explaining why the world exists as it does, and creating an overall sense of awe in the powers of the God that they serve.
References
David and Goliath, original biblical myth: http://web.mit.edu/jywang/www/cef/Bible/NIV/NIV_Bible/1SAM+17.html
Moses and King Og: https://www.bic.ac.il/JH/Parasha/eng/chukath/kos.html
Jinn: https://youtu.be/YvdedlbyrQM
Jinn and Relation to Mental Illness: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5882841/
Open Source Imagery: https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection
Information on Religious Art: Kleiner, Fred S. Gardner’s Art through the Ages: A Global History, Sixteenth Edition, Volume II. Boston: Cengage Learning, 2018.
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